Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Virtual Control Panels?

well most of the industrial machines have full enclosures so the
hot chips usually stay behind a steel/plexi door ;-)

also the control panel and keypad are vertical or at least sloped
so you can't set stuff on them , they often face away from the
working area of the machine and are usually placed head high
to a standing operator to keep them above most shop hazards
all that combined with sealed keypads takes care of most
of the chip/coolant problems

there are a lot of usability concerns for a machine tool interface
some controls have a key beep sound for feedback ,you can't
'touch type' on membrane switches and on a CNC machine and
you want to be SURE you don't miss a keystroke (especialy the decimal)

almost all CNC control panels are divided into 'functional blocks' -
basic operation & jog controls (handwheel,start,feed hold,E-stop,etc)
machine controls (coolant,feed & speed overrides,block delete,etc.)
editing and data input (separate alpha and numeric keypads)
and mode select for auto,MDI,manual and edit

its a lot of stuff to take in at first but once you get used to the layout
its a very quick and easy to use ,you never even notice that there isn't
a mouse or other pointing device

problem is there aren't enough inputs on a stock PC for all those controls
and we like to use up the ones we have for things like home & limit switches

moving from a Haas or Okuma with a full control panel to a PC retrofit
with just a keyboard is very aggravating for me
a regular keyboard is only ment for sitting at a desk and typing
its slower ,you have to hunt for the right keys or key combinations,it
sits horizontal so you can drop things on it and hit a key (BAD NEWS),
other people may think its 'just annother PC' and decide they can 'play' on
it,etc....
sure it DOES work BUT... :-)

Brian